When I first heard about this, I thought, "Sweet, now I can ride the clouds in style." Now, however, I realize that this could create a lot of problems for our region's airports. I mean, has anyone ever refused to get on a plane due to the decals on the side? (If the Ducks plane flies anything like their football season did, I can tell you I won't be riding on that one... especially not to Arizona). Either way, it's a pretty cool PR move by Horizion... Here's what they had to say in their press release:

SEATTLE - Horizon Air today unveiled plans to honor four of the largest public universities in Oregon and Washington by painting four 70-seat CRJ-700 jets in university colors and marks. The special themed planes will be created for Oregon State University, University of Oregon, University of Washington and Washington State University - at no cost to the universities.

The aircraft will be painted one at a time starting in late December in the following sequence: WSU, Oregon, OSU and Washington, reflecting the order in which agreements were reached for Horizon to use their trademarked logos and symbols. The painting will take about 10 days per aircraft. The date each freshly painted aircraft will be entered into service will be announced later, as soon as it's determined.

The four jets were already scheduled to be repainted. They recently returned to Horizon's fleet after flying under contract for nearly four years as Frontier JetExpress. Because of the timing, the new looks will involve no additional painting cost to Horizon.

Horizon has regularly accommodated passengers associated with the four universities. Seattle (home to Washington), Pullman (WSU) and Eugene (Oregon) were among the first seven cities Horizon served upon its founding in 1981. OSU is the only school of the four that isn't located in a Horizon destination, but Corvallis is just a short drive from both Portland and Eugene.

"Like Horizon, these four state universities are deeply rooted in the Great Northwest. When we explored the possibility of creating special liveries that reflect our Northwest heritage, these venerable institutions easily rose to the top of the list," said Dan Russo, Horizon's director of marketing and communications. "By flying their colors - and the colors of their rivals - we're aiming to add fun to the flying experience. We expect this will thrill fans of the school teams, and put a smile on the faces of graduates, current students and university staff." Continue reading >>

alaskasworld.comHorizion's university liveries. All four major northwest public universities are represented.